


See, I did my Research

by IcannotbelieveIamhere



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Canon, F/M, other Arrow and Flash characters make cameo appearances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-17
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-21 10:26:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18140996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcannotbelieveIamhere/pseuds/IcannotbelieveIamhere
Summary: Barry Allen has learnt a lot since he met Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak.  He knows he has to prepare well and do all his research before running into the middle of things.  After Oliver and Felicity ask him to keep an eye on William in Central City, he's even more determined to protect all of their family.





	See, I did my Research

**Author's Note:**

> This is a follow up to my story "Surprise Children" where Oliver and Felicity ask Barry to watch William in Central City and Felicity reveals she's pregnant. It's my own interpretation and I knew before I finished writing it, that it would be different to canon.
> 
> The story title doesn't appear in the actual dialogue but it refers to Barry's reaction to Oliver's advice when he was first training Barry about being prepared and not rushing in.
> 
> An earlier version of "See, I did my Research" appeared on Tumblr. I've added more dialogue between Barry and William in the first section of the story and there are more details here and there in the second half as well. I've attempted to correct the spelling errors and apologise for the ones which remain.

Barry Allen walked along the street in the beautiful suburban area of Central City. He wasn't used to walking. He usually ran everywhere, regardless of where he was. Today he wanted to be seen walking. He stopped outside a two storey home and checked his phone to see if he was at the right address.

A week ago Barry had visited Oliver and Felicity, just after they had let Mr and Mrs Clayton take William to live in Central City. Oliver had asked Barry to keep an eye on William. They had discussed various ways of achieving this and decided that a direct approach rather than a covert operation would be the best strategy. Barry had run around Williams neighbourhood a few times in his Flash costume, learning as much as he could, but now it was finally time to meet Oliver's son.

Barry went up the front stairs and rang the doorbell. Mr Clayton answered the door.

“Hello,” Barry said nervously, “My name is Barry Allen. I'm friends with Oliver Queen.”

Mr Clayton nodded.

“Oliver called to say you'd be visiting,” Mr Clayton said evenly. It was difficult to tell whether he was happy or sad. “William's upstairs, studying in his room.”

Mr Clayton pointed the way, but put his hand up in front of Barry, before he could move ahead.

“Haven't we met before,” Mr Clayton said suspiciously.

“Um, possibly,” Barry took his CCPD identification out of his pocket and showed it to Mr Clayton. “I may have met you a couple of years ago, when William went missing.”

“I'm guessing that wasn't a co-incidence,” Mr Clayton paused. “Okay, you can go up,” he decided reluctantly.

Barry went upstairs and located William's room.

William's door was open, but Barry knocked anyway, not wanting to startle him.

“Hello.”

“Hi,” said William. He was at his desk and looked like he was doing math.

“I'm Barry Allen. I'm a friend of your dad's.”

“Grandpa said you were coming. Are you any good with trigonometry?” William seemed tense. It was understandable. He'd probably heard people say they were friends of his mom or dad a few times and usually people were lying to him.

Barry helped William with his math problem. After they had finished William seemed to be more relaxed.

“Felicity used to help me with homework. That's one of the things I miss about living in Starling City.”

“She misses you already,” Barry said.

William smiled. “So are you here to spy on me?” he said with a twinkle in his eye.

“I wouldn't put it that way,” Barry said as he looked around the bedroom.

“Are you going to put a tracker on me? Hide cameras inside and outside the house?”

“No,” Barry replied, “Felicity said you'd find them. She thinks you're really clever.”

“Maybe too clever sometimes.” William said.

“I know how that feels.” Barry said.

“How long have you known my dad?” William asked.

“About 5 years,” Barry replied.

“A few weeks ago there was a documentary team following my dad around. One of the production crew showed me some footage of interviews they'd done with dad's friends. I think I remember you playing with the clapperboard.” William said quietly.

Barry started to get worried.

“You said some really interesting things,” William continued. “You said my dad was 'damaged'. I think you knew him better than you were letting on.”

“I think I said too much,” Barry lowered his head. “I'm sorry.”

“You were right,” William said, “It sounds like you know him really well. You knew he was the Green Arrow.” 

Barry paused before answering. He wasn't going to lie to William. He wanted William to trust him. William had kept his dad's secret and many other secrets in his life. He deserved to know the truth. It might be the only way William would let him stay in contact while he was in Central City.

“Yes.” Barry said.

Barry looked around William's room. On the top of his book shelf was a row of action figures, including The Flash, Captain Cold and The Green Arrow.

“Hey these are pretty cool!” Barry exclaimed.

“I don't play with them any more but I couldn't get rid of them. Don't tell Dad I keep them out.”

“I won't.” Barry replied.

William went over to the book shelf and picked up The Flash action figure. He stared at it for a moment and appeared to go off in a world of his own. He smiled and laughed.

“What's so funny?” Barry asked.

William handed Barry his Flash action figure. 

“When I first met my dad, we played with my action figures. I didn't know he was my dad then. He said he was a friend of my mom. We played Flash versus Captain Cold. He said something back then, which I believed and never questioned. I didn't know he was the Green Arrow or that he'd rescue me a few months later.”

“What did Oliver say?” Barry asked.

“He said he'd met The Flash. I thought that was amazing. I was too young to wonder why an ordinary guy knew The Flash? But it all makes sense now. Of course the Green Arrow would know The Flash. They helped save the world together. He probably thought I'd be much older before I found out who he was, and wouldn't put all the pieces together before then. And now, just when I move back to Central City, his old friend Barry turns up to check up on me.”

William stared straight into Barry's eyes.

“What better person to keep track of me than The Flash. Dad would only confide in people who were going through the same type of thing. Part of me wondered about you when I watched the interview but now it's all fallen into place. I've seen your red streak a couple of times this week!” William exclaimed with delight.

Barry smiled.

“Yes, it's me. I'm not gonna lie to you. I've lied to so many people, and it's never turned out well.”

“Thank you,” William said, “I've lost track of the number of times people have lied to me. It hurts every time.”

“Is it okay if we hang out occasionally? I could take you back to Starling City for really quick visits. Your grandparents won't even know you've left.”

“That would be cool.” William said.

“What else would you like to do?” Barry asked.

“Would you take me to Star Labs? I'd love to see your suit.” William's eye's lit up.

“Sure, provided I'm not caught up fighting other metas,” Barry said.

“Cool,” William said.

“Anything else?” Barry asked.

“Homework,” William suggested.

“Okay,” Barry smiled, “But no science projects. I don't want to blow anything up.”

Barry and William laughed. Barry was happy. It looked like he was going to be able to help out his friends in Starling City and make a new friend along the way.

 

 

It was late on a Friday afternoon. Barry was enjoying running laps around the Speed Lab in his suit. He was always trying to beat his personal best speed. In the middle of the Speed Lab stood William Clayton. He was alternating looking at the computer monitors and the observation windows into the track. There was a look of awe on his face.

Barry had spent plenty of time with William since he had moved to Central City, except when he was saving the city from evil meta humans. William's grandparents weren't very impressed with the amount of time William was spending with Oliver's friend but they were thankful William hadn't been kidnapped or been exposed to any dangerous situations.

Team Flash and Team Arrow had worked together several times to keep both cities safe and had shared all their talents and skills. William loved hearing about their adventures together.

Barry had shown William most of Star Labs, but not the Time Vault. They had also visited his lab at CCPD and the newspaper office where Iris worked. Barry made sure William kept up with his homework, helped him deal with bullies at his school and ran him back and forth between Central City and Starling City to visit Oliver and Felicity. William seemed to be getting used to the idea of Oliver working for the SCPD and loved discussing technology ideas with Felicity in her new business enterprise, Smoak Technology. Felicity had several office staff and research assistants working for her and they enjoyed showing William their latest projects.

Barry was very impressed with Felicity. She was looking after her mind and her body throughout her pregnancy. Felicity had hired a personal assistant, Patrick, whose job was to make sure Felicity ate at the right times, took sufficient rest breaks and delegated most of the research and development tasks to her other staff. Felicity was still heavily involved in everything but Patrick made sure she kept all her pre natal appointments and attended classes with Oliver.

Barry finished his laps and ran down the ramp to William.

“Don't you get bored just running around in circles?” William asked.

“No,” Barry replied, “It feels wonderful, however many times I do it. I feel free.”

“Cool,” William said, “Can we see what Cisco is up to?”

“Sure,” Barry replied.

Barry and William walked along the corridor. William froze as alarms began to ring and lights flashed.

“What's wrong?” William cried.

“What's up Cisco?” Barry said through his suit's communication device.

“It's Felicity's distress call,” Cisco replied, “She's at Smoak Technology.”

“Okay, we'll check it out,” Barry replied.

Barry looked at William.

“Are you ready?” Barry asked.

“Yes,” William replied.

Barry carried William to Felicity's office at Smoak Technology.

They found Felicity on the floor of her office sitting on a very wet rug.

“My waters broke,” Felicity said.

“But you've still got 4 weeks to go,” William said with confusion.

“Babies don't always wait that long,” Felicity replied.

“Where's everyone?” Barry asked.

“I sent them home. Patrick called in sick this morning, otherwise he would have stayed with me. I was writing up some reports and ideas for the team to develop while I'm on leave. I thought I'd be at home tomorrooooooooooooow,” Felicity cried in pain.

Barry figured Felicity was having a contraction.

“How long have you been having contractions?” Barry asked.

“I've been having mild ones all day. They haven't been painful until now. I just thought they were Braxton Hicks contractions.”

“Okay. Time to implement Plan B.” Barry said.

“What's plan B?” William asked.

“Cisco, Implementing Plan Baby,” Barry communicated through his suit.

“Roger that Barry, I'll send the requisitions. Good luck Felicity.”

William went around to the back of Felicity's desk. 

“Is this your baby bag?” William said as he picked up a large pink suitcase.

“Thanks William,” Felicity said and smiled.

Barry helped Felicity to her feet. William carried the suitcase to them and Felicity gave him a big hug.

“Okay,” Barry began, “Felicity, I'll get you to Starling General in a few moments. William, please wait here and I'll be back for you soon.”

“Sure” William said as he began to clean up the rug.

Barry and Felicity arrived at the Queen Family private room at Starling General Hospital. Second by second Barry brought more people into the room starting with Oliver, who was very happy to see his wife and excited and scared about the upcoming birth. Felicity still seemed shocked about going into labour so early, but the medical staff reassured her that they were prepared for this.

Barry brought more equipment and staff into the room. He was really glad it was a big room. Barry had investigated extensively over the previous months, researching what equipment was needed and what equipment Starling General had for standard and early child births. All the equipment had been officially registered in the system and no other patients were missing out. Barry had also researched which other hospitals in the area had specialised equipment as a contingency plan, if all the equipment at Starling General was in use.

Barry raced around Starling General collecting chairs, tables and sofas from the various waiting rooms in the hospital. He cleaned and sterilised each item and set them up at the far end of the private room, near the windows overlooking Starling City. The room was ready for family and friends. Barry had also installed temporary dividers which could be moved across the room for privacy when it was time for the birth.

By the time Barry brought William to Starling General, most of the seats were full. 

“Oh Wow!” William exclaimed when he saw all of the activity. He rushed over to Felicity and Oliver.

“Hi kiddo,” Oliver said.

William stared at Oliver.

“Dad, you get away with that one today only. Felicity, how are you?”

“I'm still figuring things out. The doctor's tell me my baby has a strong heartbeat, I'm almost fully dilated and the contractions are coming constantly.” Felicity babbled.

Oliver, Felicity and William hugged each other. As they parted Felicity looked up and smiled at Barry. 

“Thank you, Flash,” she said, looking around at the medical staff.

“You prepared well,” Oliver nodded, “Thank you.”

Barry and William went back to the other end of the room as the medical staff attended to Felicity. William noticed Donna Smoak asleep on one of the sofas.

“What happened to her?” William asked.

“She fainted when I arrived in her kitchen,” Barry said, “I guess they don't get many meta humans in Las Vegas.”

William looked up and saw his Aunt Thea rushing towards him.

“Oh my goodness, you've grown so much!” she exclaimed as she hugged William.

“Oh Wow! Where have you been?” William asked.

“Roy and I were in South America. We'd just discovered another Lazarus Pit. Nyssa is taking care of it. I'm really glad we know The Flash.”

“Where's Diggle?” Roy said as he shook hands with William.

“He said he'd drive over. He didn't want to be sick in a hospital room.” Barry said.

“Wise move,” Rene replied.

“Hi William,” said Zoe, “Good to see you again.”

“Hi Zoe,” William replied, “How's life going?”

Barry looked around the room. Cisco and Caitlyn were looking longingly at Felicity and Oliver. Caitlyn looked like she wanted to help with the delivery but Barry had told her he wanted Felicity's obstetrician to be in charge. Barry had found him on the golf course finishing his round, just before he entered the 19th hole. Barry had also located Felicity's two favourite midwives, Stacy and Adi, as well as Dr Schwartz and many specialised staff, including an anaesthetist, just in case Felicity needed an emergency ceserean.

“Are you staying for the birth?” Dinah Drake asked Barry.

“Yes, but there's one more person I have to find,” Barry said as he disappeared again.

A few moments later Barry appeared again dressed in casual clothes and carrying Iris. Once he released her she ran over to Caitlyn and Cisco saying, “Am I an auntie or an uncle?”

“Relax Iris,” Barry said, “We're still waiting.”

Thirty minutes later there were shouts of “We have a baby girl.” There was screaming and shouting and crying and tears from everyone, not just the new arrival.

“Welcome Baby Mia,” Oliver and Felicity called out to everyone.

Once Mia had been examined by the staff and handed back to Felicity and Oliver, each member of the family came up one by one to share the joy.

Barry waited until everyone else had been to see Mia. Donna had woken up by this stage and was delighted she'd been there for the early birth, even if she couldn't remember exactly how she'd gotten there.

“Thanks Barry,” Felicity said.

“She's beautiful,” Barry said as he looked down at Mia.

“You've learnt a lot Barry,” Oliver said smiling.

“You too, Oliver.”

Barry smiled. He and Oliver had come a long way from their difficult early encounters. Now they were all truly working together as one team, looking after each other. William walked up to Barry and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Did anyone call my grandparents?” William asked.

Barry's jaw dropped.

“Ooops. I'd better go tell them where you are.”

Barry looked around the room, making sure there were no medical staff present and then disappeared in a flash.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading.
> 
> In case you were wondering, in my alternative universe, Starling City was never changed to Star City.
> 
> Please let me know your thoughts on the story. It's different to the other pregnancy and birth stories out there but I think it gives an interesting perspective and answers a few questions along the way.


End file.
